Urban Conservation ... you do make a difference!

The Growth of Urban Conservation

Urban communities are expanding to meet demands of growing populations. Homes, schools, and shopping centers require that additional roads be built to connect people with these services.

Local developers, planners, engineers, government officials, and resource agencies must respond to these demands. They must collectively manage land development in ways that minimize negative environmental impacts that development activities may create.

Developing areas can account for a significant amount of soil erosion and off-site damage from sediment. Construction sites typically have far greater erosion rates than agricultural land, making runoff from urbanizing landscapes a significant source of sediment in surface water.

With urban development comes more impervious surfaces. Roofs, roads, parking lots, and compacted turf areas increase runoff and deliver more sediment, nutrients, hydrocarbons, and other pollutants to receiving streams. Flooding problems can also be aggravated causing damage for residents and municipalities.

Types of Erosion

	Streambank Erosion: This type of erosion is the scouring away of streambanks. Degrading or down-cutting streambeds and/or repeated high flows of extended duration cause bank erosion.
	Gully Erosion: The erosion process where rills deepen to depths of one foot or more.
	Sheet and Rill Erosion: Sheet erosion is the uniform movement of a thin layer of soil from water runoff. Rills are numerous, small channels that are several inches deep.
	Wind Erosion: Wind erosion is similar to sheet erosion in that detachment, transport, and deposition of soil particles occur. Soil movement is caused by wind rather than water.

Technical Expertise and Experience

The USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has worked with landowners, land managers, and community officials for more than 70 years.

NRCS technical specialists have assisted in the application of many soil erosion, water conservation, sediment control, and stormwater management plans with rural landowners for many years. Many of the same principles and procedures used to address agricultural land resource concerns, such as soil erosion, can be applied to urban conservation resource concerns

Conservation practice standards and specifications have been developed and can be found on the Kansas NRCS website. To access, go to www.ks.nrcs.usda.gov/technical, click on electronic Field Office Technical Guide (eFOTG). Once on the eFOTG web page:

• Select "Kansas" from the U.S. map
• Select the "County" of interest
• Select "Section IV"
• Select "Conservation Practices" and the practice you wish to view

Additional information can be obtained in Sections I, II, III, and V in the eFOTG. These sections contain resource maps, soils information, and many other resources that may be of interest.

Urban Conservation

The Kansas NRCS has established an "Urban Conservation" link on the Kansas NRCS website. To access, go to www.ks.nrcs.usda.gov, under "Information For," click on "Urban Conservation." Under this section, there are publications relating to urban conservation. This information is to assist homeowners, contractors, and communities in addressing urban conservation issues, such as stormwater runoff, soil erosion, water conservation, plus regulatory issues. This section is a working document that will be added to as urban conservation information becomes available.

Buried Utilities

It is important to remember to have buried utilities marked in the proposed project area prior to any excavation, including digging holes. To do this, call the following number prior to starting the project.

Kansas Dig Safe
1-800-Dig-Safe
1-800-344-7233

Controlling Urban Erosion

Erosion and sedimentation go hand-in-hand. Both are costly enemies to developers and to the community. Erosion removes topsoil and creates gullies greatly increasing the cost of establishing grass.

Sediment that leaves a construction site fills road ditches, clogs culverts and storm sewers, and pollutes lakes and streams. It is much more expensive to remove sediment from these areas than to prevent sediment from leaving a construction site.

Facts

• One inch of water over one acre of land equals 27, 152 gallons.
• A steady dripping faucet can waste 20 to 30 gallons of water a day.
• Over 90 percent of the world's fresh water supply is located in Antarctica.
• Most of the earth's surface water is permanently frozen or salty.
• If the entire world's water supply was put into a gallon jug, the fresh water available would equal only about one tablespoon.
• About 6,800 gallons of water is required to grow a day's food for a family of four.
• About 39,090 gallons of water is needed to make an automobile, tires included.
• One mature tree in a riparian area can filter as much as 200 pounds of nitrate runoff per year.
• Five tons of topsoil spread over one acre (approximately 200 feet by 200 ft) is as thin as a dime.
• Natural processes can take up to 500 years to form one inch of topsoil.
• One earthworm can digest 36 tons of soil in one year.

This information is also available for download and requires Acrobat Reader.

Urban Conservation .....you do make a difference! (PDF; 466 KB)

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Last Modified: 08/27/2008